STS-135 Launch Panorama
Space shuttle Atlantis heads for orbit during the final launch of the space shuttle program. The wideangle lens used in this 360° panorama makes the press site at Kennedy Space Center seem oddly empty, a huge number of people were on hand to witness the final launch of the 30-year program. Click image to view […]
Handoff to Houston
Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower on the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135. Once clear of the tower, control is transferred from the Kennedy Space Centre to Mission Control in Houston for the duration of the flight.
Booster Max Q
Condensation clouds form around the nose of Atlantis’ solid rocket boosters as the space shuttle makes the transition to supersonic speed. The effect can be seen below, in a frame taken from one of NASA’s HD video cameras mounted to the External Tank:
Chris Hadfield
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives an interview at the press site of the Kennedy Space Centre. Hadfield flew on two shuttle missions, STS-74 (Atlantis) and STS-100 (Endeavour).
Monsoon Season
A remote camera set up on a dry lake bed captures space shuttle Atlantis clearing the tower during launch of STS-135. Heavy rains preceding launch day dramatically changed the nature of this photograph, turning the foreground from a brilliant landscape of caked and broken earth to something approaching a mudbowl.
Important Business
A gentleman conducts important business on his phone as Atlantis reaches for the clouds, mere seconds after the final launch of the space shuttle program.
Camera Wall
Photographers form a solid wall at the Kennedy Space Centre’s press site, in preparation for the final launch of the entire space shuttle program.
Mission Quilt
Long-time NASA employees display a quilt of every single space shuttle mission patch, dating back to the first launch in 1981 of STS-1.
Economies of Scale
Photographers give scale to the enormity of the manned US space program, setting up their cameras at the foot of the launch pad in preparation for the final launch of the 30-year space shuttle program.
Wonderful Profile
Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower for the final time, signalling the end of the space shuttle program.
